gameofthronesfanonfandomcom-20200222-history
Balian Tyrell
House Tyrell (formerly) |Culture = Andal |Family = |Image = Rossif Sutherland as Balian Tyrell.jpg|TV series (young) Rade Šerbedžija as Balian Tyrell.jpg|TV series Young balian.JPG|ASOIAF (young) Balian imprisoned.jpg|ASOIAF |Actor = Rade Šerbedžija Rossif Sutherland (young) |Successor = Eyron Morvayn |Father = {Luthor Tyrell} |Mother = {Olenna Tyrell} |Siblings = {Mace Tyrell} }} to Balian}} Balian Tyrell 'is a recurring character in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth seasons. Balian is Lord Mace Tyrell's younger brother. He was King Aerys II's Master of Laws and one of his most trusted advisers and closest friends. His relationship with Aerys culminated in a growing madness which reached its peak at the conclusion of Robert's Rebellion. When Robert Baratheon's troops entered King's Landing, Balian refused to abandon his king and remained in the throne room after the rebels had already taken the city. After Jaime Lannister killed the Mad King, Balian was subsequently imprisoned partly due to his insanity. Biography Background Balian was born in Highgarden to Lord Luthor and Lady Olenna Tyrell. In his youth, Balian was considered to be weak and a fool. However, Olenna described Balian as the strongest Tyrell who ever lived, until his fall into insanity. Balian was offered to become the Master of Laws to King Aerys II Targaryen, which he gladly accepted. During his service as a small council member, Balian was the only person the Mad King fully trusted. He was also the only person aside from the Mad King who liked Hersham Groatworth, who also sat on the small council as the Master of Coin. Balian was entrusted with more serious cases which Aerys didn't trust to fall on the other council members, including the deaths of Brandon and Rickard Stark. At the start of Robert's Rebellion, Balian began to lock himself away from society and subsequently shunned his own family. Balian was responsible for the deaths of several noblemen who sided with Robert Baratheon, which, at the end of Robert's Rebellion, was one of the main reasons why he was imprisoned. Despite his eccentricity, Balian was initially well-respected and popular with the other council members. However, once his madness began to manifest and worsen, Balian became a feared figure, due to the fact that he was prone to outbursts of violence which could be triggered just by mildly offending him. Balian became overzealous in his position as the Master of Laws. Over time he transformed into Aerys' chief enforcer and investigator. He had no problem imprisoning or otherwise killing people the Mad King distrusted, even if they were complete innocents. During the Sack of King's Landing, Aerys demanded for Tywin Lannister's head and ordered Jaime Lannister to kill him. Jaime instead killed Aerys by stabbing him in the back. Balian, infuriated, attacked Jaime, but the Kingslayer eventually overpowered him. When Eddard Stark entered the Red Keep and ordered his men to imprison Balian, the Tyrell prodigy went into a fit of animalistic rage, attempting to free himself from the rebels. From that day on, Balian had become completely insane. In the years that followed, Balian remained a black spot on the Tyrell family, who have come to aptly refer to him "the Blackrose", as a dark parody to Brynden Tully's nickname. Season 1 Balian is a prisoner in King's Landing. During Eddard Stark's personal investigation into Jon Arryn's death, he decides to pay a visit to the Blackrose in the Black Cells. He is abhorred at seeing Balian's dirty, unwashed look and paranoid personality. Ned attempts to interrogate Balian about Jon Arryn, after which the Blackrose admits in his ramblings that the late of the Hand of the King had visited him once to talk about the Mad King. He gives Ned the same answer he gave Arryn, that he still considers Aerys to have been a "man beyond his age". He also gives Ned a cryptic warning, that the Lannisters will soon be the end of him. After Ned Stark is imprisoned for treason against the newly-crowned King Joffrey Baratheon, he ends up in a cell located adjacent to Balian's. Balian taunts Ned about being his new neighbor, chiding him for not believing the "trustworthy madman". He tells Ned that he shouldn't worry, as he'll be released from the Black Cells sooner than he will; implying that Ned is set to be executed. Ned attempts to shrug off Balian's remarks while the latter laughs frantically. Personality Prior to his fall into insanity, Balian was a very articulate and intelligent individual. He was above all politically astute which was what made him such an effective Master of Laws. Olenna, Balian's mother, often described him as being very kind and generous, popular with the court, and a heavy drinker. During his tenure as Master of Laws, Balian displayed increasing erratic and often times violent behavior. He became immensely paranoid but remained closest to King Aerys. Balian began to pay less attention to his hygiene, contrasting to the fact that he bathed almost daily. At the end of Aerys' reign, Balian followed his orders without question, going so far as executing Aerys' enemies personally if he ordered him to do so. He grew grim and solemn, cold and unemotional. This later manifested into misanthropy, growing so extreme until Balian found no problem killing anyone who even looked at him funny. After his imprisonment, nothing of Balian's old personality remained. He became an unpredictable character, at one moment being eerily quiet and calm, and the next gibbering like a crazed animal. Balian was also prone to making ribald or otherwise highly offensive, dark jokes, such as telling Mira Forrester that he "could smell her cunt". Balian also claimed that Aerys gave him highly classified information that he should only reveal "once the time is right", which is the primary reason why Balian was never executed for his growing insanity. Surprisingly, Balian is capable of making coherent conversations with others, although these are often rare phenomena. In the books In the ''A Song of Ice and Fire ''novels, Balian is a violent maniac imprisoned in King's Landing after Robert's Rebellion ended. He is described as being unpredictable, violent, completely insane and socially detached from everyone else. He was King Aerys II's chief adviser and served as Master of Laws on his small council for several years. Many attribute his relationship with Aerys to contributing to his steep fall into insanity. Some even rumor that Aerys and Balian were sexually involved. Many who knew both Aerys and Balian reject this theory, while Balian has done nothing to subvert them either. In the early years of Robert's reign, attempts had been made to "cure" Balian's insanity, although they proved fruitless. At one point, Balian violently raped a septa who had been assigned to treat him, who some say had since become pregnant, although this is disputed. Ever since that event, no women are allowed to go near Balian, and he is almost always surrounded by guards. Balian is constantly subjected to harsh treatment by guards, having endured frequent beatings, some ordered by Cersei. However, these torture sessions do not seem to mind him, and apparently he even seems to enjoy some. To House Tyrell, Balian is a black stain on the Tyrell name, with his family collectively engaging in an act of ''damnatio memoriae ''to wipe out any trace of his existence. This caused him to gain the nickname "Blackrose", a sinister parody to Brynden Tully's nickname; the Blackfish. During Robert's Rebellion, Balian was described as "chubby", being slightly overweight. Like his brother Mace, Balian had curly brown hair, but with a balding top. He was clean-shaven and had a smooth, spotless skin. He had strong hands with short fingers and shining white teeth. He wore clean formal clothing accompanied with a green cloak with golden embroidered roses, the sigil of House Tyrell. After his imprisonment and subsequent fall into insanity, Balian looks nothing like how he did before. He became dirty and unwashed, his well-styled brown hair had grown white and extremely long, covering his head entirely. He is now an emaciated old man due to complete isolation. He constantly looks as if he is visited by ghosts daily, possessing the infamous "thousand-yard stare". His teeth have become yellow and sharp, like fangs, in order for him to consume the rats that occupy his cell more easily. He wears the same dirty old prison rags that were given to him when he was first imprisoned. He still has his green cloak but it has now become stained with feces after years of using it as toilet paper. Balian's voice is hoarse and smoky, in contrast to his soft and high voice he possessed prior to his fall to insanity. In ''A Game of Thrones, Balian is visited by Eddard Stark often in his investigation to uncover the truth of Jon Arryn's death. Balian claims that Ned will not last long in King's Landing, and is destined to be consumed by the lions that dominate it. Ned pities Balian and views him as being beyond redemption, although he is fervently against the abuses he suffers at the hand of his sadistic guards. Throughout the series, Balian remains a passive observer to the game of thrones played by the various inhabitants of King's Landing. After Joffrey's death, the cell adjacent to Balian is occupied by Tyrion Lannister, who is accused of having killed his nephew on a whim. Balian frequently taunts Tyrion and attempts to throw his feces at him. Tyrion asks the guards often to have his cell transferred, while Balian keeps verbally assaulting him. See also Quotes }} Category:LordOfTheNeverThere Category:Characters Category:Status: Alive Category:House Tyrell Category:Characters from the Reach Category:Noble Category:Nobles Category:Masters of Laws Category:Major Characters